An Investment team focused on Digital Customer Growth

It started with a shared insight that there is a gaping opportunity for a marketing enabled investment team who understand how to grow a (DTC) brands number one asset – it’s customer base.

Beyond that, we have first-hand experience in launching and successfully selling multiple companies, and learning from the pains and gains along the way.

And so, In November 2018 we launched BLUE14 – a Marketing and Investment Group helping fellow entrepreneurs build and grow Performance Media Companies and DTC brands.

Adding a sprinkle of Blue Ocean Strategy, and a passion for beautiful work spaces, we have quickly evolved in to a thriving UK Community of interconnected activities.

With specific focus on Direct To Consumer – the BLUE14 model is made for our time
… and our astounding portfolio results affirm this 

 

Jim Lewcock, Founder BLUE14

Jim Lewcock, Founder

The angel investor and conceptualist behind BLUE14, Jim made his money building The Specialist Works from one desk to two hundred. After hitting £130m billings through growth and acquisitions, Jim sold his multinational agency in 2018.

Proudest careers moments – emotional speech and goodbye to TSW, closely followed by purposeful shenanigans with virgin unite and the fasttrack onehundred crew.

Likes – curious entrepreneurs, clarity, Blue Ocean Strategy, music, Linky-brains and occasional hedonism.

Special skills – direct response channels , leadership, an eye for the opportunity, big speeches, culture creation, hustle bustle.

Most likely to say – “let’s do it”

Guy Stainthorpe, Co-Founder (B2C)

The go to man for eCommerce and subscription product development at BLUE14. Guy has spent most of his working life in the direct marketing engine rooms of global B-to-C media companies, such as Bertelsmann AG and latterly at DeAgostini Spa, where he launched 47 new continuity products in English language markets in a decade. Most recently, he has helped Atlas For Men, a European eCommerce clothing brand, establish a new market presence in the UK.

Proudest careers moments – winning a Queens Award for Export Achievement at The Folio Society in 1998; Co-founding the nay-sayers by growing a market leading collectibles business from scratch for DeAgostini; Getting Davina McCall’s annual fitness DVD to Number 1 in the UK National DVD Charts in January 2016.

Likes – optimists, team players, generosity of spirit, entrepreneurs like Jim and Dom.
And great copy…

Special skills – analysis, planning and end-to-end delivery in D-to-C business management; efficient, robust new product testing and development; building offer propositions and mastering the direct response variables and profit drivers in a business.

Most likely to say – “and the bottom line is…”

Dom Benton, Co-Founder (Performance Media)

BLUE14’s marketing services lead, Dom built his own agency and has since helped others to build theirs. He has specialised in supporting high growth consumer brands for the past 20 years and, after his exit in 2015, Dom has spent the past five years in the world of start-ups and scale-ups as an investor and adviser.

Proudest careers moments – almost £1bn of exit value realised by brands his own agency played a big part in growing. Taking the whole agency to House Festival several times. Building a business good enough for someone (Jim!) to want to buy it.

Likes – clearly differentiated propositions, finding multiple answers, plans that lead to happy choices, good arguers, being outside, foreign cities, trees, beaches.

Special skills – TV advertising, growth strategies, planning pragmatism, reading people, adding ideas, having a laugh along the way.

Most likely to say – something surprisingly blunt

Christian Mealing, Co-Founder (Comarketing)

BLUE14’s property lead, Christian builds engaging spaces. For fifteen years he has specialised in project managing the conceptual development, and delivering flagship office spaces in the publishing and media world.

Proudest careers moments – Jumping in the Blue Ocean and creating BLUE14’s first COMARKETING space in his home city of Brighton.

Likes – Finding new life for old spaces, detail and process, plus anything in Wallpaper* Magazine.

Special skills – Finding a solution when everyone else has given up.

Most likely to say – “The devil is in the detail”